He's Just a Friend
by Soul-out-Fairy
Summary: Soul and Liz are helping their meisters ready for the biggest change in their lives yet. While going through the motions with their meisters the stress of it all starts to bear down on the two. Will they ride the wave of love in it's most potent form or let it pass them by? SoulxLiz KidxMaka
1. Chapter 1: Best Friend on The Side

A/N: I saw there were very few fics for these two so I had to do something about this! I just want to say thank you to sweetsheart for her SteinxMarie fics which got me into wanting to write for Soul Eater and to ship KidxMaka.

Happy reading~

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Mornings. The most stressful time of day. It was even more so when your meister woke you up at seven thirty in the morning whining about your little sister's inability to make a decent pb and j. Liz yawned and wiped the tears from her still sleepy eyes. She couldn't help but wonder why she was standing in the kitchen in her pajamas. She glanced over the counter; bread, peanut butter, jelly, a jar, plate and a knife to spread it. Patty had even already made the sandwhich and cut it. And the problem was...

"Look at this," Kid speculated with a pointed finger aiming for Patty's newest sandwhich. "It's not symmetrical at all! The way the bread is cut is...it's..."

Liz squinted her sleepy eyes at the diagonally cut sandwhich. The cut wasn't crooked or anything. "I think I'm missing the point here," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"The crust Liz," her meister stated as if it were common knowledge. "The cut means nothing because the crust makes it asymmetrical no matter you do. I tried explaining but Patty refuses to cut the crust."

"That's my favorite part," the younger Thompson sister whined.

"Some things must be sacrificed in order to maintain symmetry Patty," Kid said in a soft, understanding voice.

"Does it really matter?" the older woman inquired tiredly. "It's going to go down the same way no matter how it's cut."

The reaper fell to his knees in an instant stupor. "I'm sorry Patty," he cried, "I just want the best for you! I can give you nothing more than perfect symmetry and I just want to make sure I give you everything- but it's no use. I'm nothing but garbage if I can't even give you the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwhich..."

Liz and Patty stared down at their depressed meister, both sharing in an animated sweatdrop. Patty turned back to her sandwhich and quickly cut away the brown edges. "Look Kid!" she exclaimed. Kid slowly lifted his head to see the plate containing two perfect triangles. His previous depressed posture switched to one of joy. He jumped to his feet and fixed the wrinkles from his pants.

"I knew you could do it Patty," he praised her with a pat on the shoulder.

Liz shook her head at her sister and meister. The people she lived with... "Hey, Kid, aren't you going to be late meeting Maka to pick out dresses?" she asked, looking at the large clock on the wall. "It's almost eight thrity."

"Right," he said running for the mansion's large doors. "I leave everything in your capable hands! Don't forget you're supposeto meet us at the bridal shop to try on the bridesmaid dresses."

"Okay," Patty called after him as he ran out the door.

The door cracked open and he came back inside. "Don't forget to go pick up Soul on your way there. Maka said he would probably still be asleep so you'll have to go get him."

"Got it," Liz said, waving him away. "Now go before you're late Kid."

He exited once again and closed the door behind him. Liz sighed as she slumped down on the sofa. That was to much excitement for this early in the morning, not to mention the fact that she had to go pull someone else out of bed. Patty hummed happily as she ate her symmetrical peanut butter and jelly sandwhich.

"Eat quick, okay Patty," she called in half yawn. "We have to go get Soul and meet them at the bridal store."

"Mkay!" she said over a mouth full of sandwhich.

Liz stood and stretched her aching arms wide. She waited for Patty to finish eating before they went up stairs together to occupy both bathrooms and get dressed. Liz took a little longer than Patty to finish, what with putting on her make-up and all. The younger sister wore jeans, a comfy t-shirt and a dark brown beanie. Liz had chosen a casual jean skirt, silver halter top blouse, and white sandals. They would be doing a lot of switching in and out of clothes so comfort was key today.

Once finished, they left the house and headed straight for Maka's place. "Can't wait to try on all the pretty dresses," Patty said in sing-song. "Hey, sis?"

"Yes Patty?" Liz replied as they crossed the street that lead to Maka and Soul's apartment.

"Why are we getting Soul? Is he going to wear a pretty dress too?"

Liz laughed at the image of Soul wearing a pink dress that popped in her mind almost instantly. "No Patty," she chuckled. "Soul's going to be wearing a suit."

"Ohhhhh~" the younger woman replied.

They stopped in front of the apartment and Liz knocked on the door. Blair answered the door with a smile. "Hey Liz, Patty!"

"Hey Blair," Liz smiled as she invited them inside. "Is Soul still sleeping?"

Blair nodded then folded her arms. "Soul is a sleepy boy," she mewed. "Blair tried everything but he won't get up. Maka will be mad if he's late.."

"That's why we're here!" Patty exclaimed excitedly. "Maka told us 'go get Soul!'"

Blair laughed at her Maka impression. "Well he's right upstairs if you wanna try," she giggled. "Blair's going to have some breakfast."

She pranced into the kitchen as the sisters headed up to Soul's room. Liz turned the knob and slowly opened the door just enough for them to be able to peek inside. They could see his arm hanging from beneath his covers. "Alright Patty," Liz whispered, "we only have one shot so we have to make his count."

"Got it!" the weapon replied, her expression serious. "Kid'll be mad if we're late right?"

"Yep, so we have to get this right the first time." Liz swallowed hard. "You remember the plan right?"

"Of course," she said, a gleam in her eye.

"Okay. Three...two...one!"

The two pistols burst into the room and dived ontop of the other sleeping weapon, causing immence panic. It was a mass of flailing arms and legs until the girls got out of the bed laughing hysterically. Soul sat up and shook his head. Patty rolled on the floor laughing madly.

"What the-"

"Hurry up we have to go meet Kid and Maka," Liz said, still grining widely.

"Oh yeah," Soul yawned.

The girls waited down stairs while Soul got ready. Blair offered them fish but they politely declined. Soul emerged five minutes later wearing a plain green tee and black jeans. He rushed them out the door calling back to Blair not to burn down the apartment. If they were late Maka would kill him, almost literally.

"So how does it feel Soul?" Patty asked as they made their way to the bridal shop.

"How does what feel?" he asked, stretching his still stiff arms.

"To know Maka will be getting married," Liz finished for her. "You must be pretty excited."

"Yeah, I am," he said. "She was so happy that night when Kid proposed. I didn't get any sleep at all." He chuckled at the memory. "I'm happy for her, of course."

"Kid was a nervous wreck that night too," Liz sighed. "I think he would have died if Maka had said no."

They continued to talk about their meister's engagement until they reached the bridal shop. Maka jumped up from her chair when they came in. "There you are!" she sighed exasperatedly.

"Relax I told you I'd be here on time," Soul replied coolly. "Bring out the penguin suits."

Kid smiled at Liz and Patty, a sign of relief. Maka handed Soul a black suit and forced him into a changing room. They went through a few choices of suits; white, grey, black, silver, brown. The only one they agreed on was the grey with little dispute. Liz thought any one of them would be fine on him but, then, whatever they chose the others would have to wear as well. They were away on business and would be back in time for the wedding. Once they settled on a color it was the girl's turn. They looked through the racks with Maka and left the boys to chat.

"So," Kid began carefully, "I'm sure you're feeling a lot of things right now."

Soul stared at the reaper. Why was everyone being so weird today? "What's with the questions?" he asked. "I'm happy for both of you. I know you'll take of Maka and if not she can handle herself." He laced his fingers behind his head.

"Don't joke like that- you know I'd give my life for Maka!" he retorted.

"Yeah," Soul sighed. "Seriously though, why is everyone asking me about my opinion? It's you and Maka's decision, I have nothing to do with it."

Kid sat back and folded his arms. "It's just that she's someone so close to you and she's going through a big change right now. You on the other hand..."

"Hey, I'm fine being a single man," Soul retorted in his defense. "I don't see any reason to rush anything. The right woman will show up when she does. Not that I'm thinking about things like that," he added quickly.

His cheeks flushed and his tough guy appearance fell. Kid smiled at his friend's unwavering resolve. Of course, when the right one came along he would know it. The girls returned with a few dress choices. As Liz and Patty went into changing rooms Kid ushered Maka into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Save it for the honeymoon," Soul called through cupped hands.

They laughed as Liz and Patty emerged from their changing rooms wearing the first choice of dresses: simple, red and sleeveless. Soul smiled at the widely grinning Patty who twirled around to show off the skirt of her dress. Maka walked up to them, circled a few times, mumbled something about alterations then turned back to Kid.

"I think this would look nice on any of them," she said, "but the color.."

"Do whatever you want, they're your bridesmaids," Kid replied with a reassuring smile.

"Alright," Maka said and turned back to the weapons. "Let's try on the lavender ones next."

"Yaay!" Patty exclaimed and ran back into her dressing room.

Liz sighed toward Kid who gave her a 'shoo'ing motion and went back to put on another dress. The guys may think that slipping on a dress is easy just because it's a one piece deal, but were they ever wrong. Liz proceeded to fight her way out of that dress and into the next. It went on easily enough but then she had to bend her arms impossibly to zip it and then tie the back up. This one hung just above her ankles and was a soft lavender color with straps and a large bow that tied in the back. Liz looked at it in the small mirror provided and nodded her approval before stepping out to be inspected. Patty stood still, waiting for Maka's careful eye.

"Oh, wow Liz," Maka exclaimed with wide eyes. "This one looks really good on you!"

"What are you talking about," Soul interjected with a sharp toothed grin. "Liz looks awesome in any dress."

Liz smiled nervously at the white haired weapon, hoping she had on enough make-up to hide her heated face. Kid nodded his agreement as Maka looked her over. This time the bow was to much. They returned to try on another dress. The next few dresses were more acceptable but only one truly had Maka's heart for her bridesmaids. They decided on the sleeveless black dresses with silver sashes that hung to the hip. They would make for a very lovely photo after the wedding with everyone together.

"Yaay!" Patty cheered giving Liz a high-five.

"We're finally done with the dress shopping!" Maka said with a relieved smile. "Now for the theme we have to get back in touch with the coordinator to make sure everything is going to be okay. Thank you for your help today," she said as she hugged the twin pistols.

"No problem Maka," Liz replied.

"Yeah, and we got to try on so many pretty dresses!" Patty chirped.

Kid stretched his legs lazily. "Have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah, Liz'll probably drag me out somewhere to hang out or something," he replied, standing. "I don't mind though, she's cool."

Kid stood next to him and Maka grabbed her things. They said their goodbyes and split up, each group with a list of things to do on their minds. Liz and Patty dragged Soul to a diner to eat out for lunch.

"I have to text Tsubaki and tell her that we have everything picked out," Liz said as she tapped away at her cellphone. "Hey Soul, by the way, you looked really good in those suits. I was actually kind of surprised."

"What's that suppose to mean?" he inquired over the menu. "What are you trying to say?"

Patty giggled, knowing where this was going.

"Nothing, I'm just saying it was nice to see you in some decent clothes for once." Liz finished her text and put down the cellphone. "I mean, no offense, but you dress really...low key."

"Low key means like a bum," Patty whispered to the death scythe.

"I know what it means," he growled, putting down the menu as calmly as he could manage. "I don't dress like a bum, I dress comfortable. Patty and I are dressed the same right now." He put an arm over the younger pistol's shoulder and leaned in for a side-by-side comparison.

"You're right," she said tilting her head. "But Patty pulls it off better so it looks more like a fashion statement than a lifestyle."

"Oh yeah!" Patty said throwing up a peace sign.

"Whatever," Soul replied sitting back in the booth. "How am I always wrong when it comes to you?"

Liz seemed distant as she stared past the white haired death scythe. Soul waved a hand in front of her face but got no response. He turned around to see one of those lame soap operas playing on the television.

_"Don't do this Ryan," the woman pleaded with tears falling from her eyes. "I love you."_

_The man turned away from her. "I'm sorry Tish," he said dramatically, "I just can't do this anymore. We have to let this go before it hurts us both any more.."_

_"Oh Ryan!" _

_The man turned around and they kiss pationately for at least a minute before breaking away and the man quickly walks out of the room, leaving the woman crying on her couch._

Soul shook his head and turned from the tv as a commercial began. "That's just not cool," he sighed.

"Shut up Soul!" Liz shouted, tears streaming down her face. "You're so unromantic! That was so beautiful.."

"I guess I am if being romantic means leaving a woman like that. Doesn't kissing her just make it worse?"

Liz angrily wiped away her tears. "I thought the kiss was amazing. I wish someone would kiss me like that," she sighed.

Soul took this opportunity to get back at her for the bum comment earlier. He leaned over the table and gently touched her cheek, drawing her out of her fantasy. Their eyes met and both were frozen. Patty watched with large, round eyes as Soul leaned forward and Liz followed his movements until they were only breaths apart.

"Soul," Liz breathed against his lips, "what are you doing?"

He stared into her solid blue eyes, unable to move either backward or forward. It occured to Patty that they were probably stuck in that awkward moment so she pushed them apart and shoved thier faces into the seats.

"Ahh! Patty what are you doing?" Liz exclaimed through the polished leather.

"You can stop now," Soul mumbled almost inaudibly.

Patty stopped and sat back down next to her sister humming satisfactory. Liz sat up and rubbed her painful cheek. "Ow, what was that for Patty?"

"You looked stuck together so I pushed you apart," she replied seriously. "At first I thought you were making the kissy face but then I saw how uncomfortable you looked so I helped!"

"Thanks Patty," Soul grumbled.

Liz blushed upon noticing the stares aimed at their booth. It was probably time to leave before she died of embarrassment. "I-I think it's time for us to go," Liz blurted. "Um, we'll catch you later Soul, bye!"

She grabbed her sister's wrist and walked briskly out of the diner before her blush got any worst. Soul dropped his head on the table. "Did I seriously just do that?" he thought a loud. "Just because Maka's getting married in a few months doesn't mean I have to rush into anything...especially with Liz. She's probably going to hate me for a while..."

Liz ran all the way back to the mansion without stopping, much to Patty's surprise. She usually hated running unless there was some big emergency and there wasn't to her knowledge. When they got back home Liz sat up in her room for the most of the afternoon. Patty brought her a sandwhich for lunch but other wise she got nothing out of her sister.

"Why is my heart still pounding?" Liz questioned nervously. "It's just Soul- I've known him for years. We're best friends! Why..." She shook her head. "It was that stupid soap. I'm all emotional from the soap that's it. Ah, look at me, I'm so pathetic. Why am I even so worked up about all of this? Soul is just a guy that happens to be my friend. Nothing more."

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A/N: This is my first fic for anime though I have been writing a long time. I would like to continue this story into quite a few chapters but that depends on how much feedback I get. Please review~!


	2. Chapter 2: Just The Three of Us

The objective today was making sure all invitations were finished and sent. As much as it pained the twin pistols, Kid was refusing their help in everyway. They were going to be homemade because Maka liked things done by hand because they were more sincere. Kid was to make a design for the front of the cards and choose the font. Maka and Soul would be arriving later from inspecting the building chosen for the ceremony. She would help him write the message, name the cards and mail them.

"That sounds like a lot of work," Patty speculated from the couch after Kid's explanaition.

"It is Patty and that is why I have to make sure everything is absolutely perfect," he said, his eyes shining. "This has to have a little of both me and Maka in it."

"This sounds like a lot of work for one day," Liz sighed as she flipped lazily through tv channels. "I don't see myself doing that any time soon."

"Oh Liz," Kid sighed as he started to sketch out the design, "a wedding is not only important to the bride and groom but to the guests as well. These invitations will be a part of everyone's memory along with the ceremony."

Liz only shook her head as she continued to flip through the channels. What kind of maniac came up with cabel anyway? Over a hundred channels and nothing to watch. She let it fall on the next channel it turned to and dropped her aching arm on the couch. Two women stood in a bridal shop, one in a dress she recognized as a bridesmaid dress, and the other was talking loudly. The women were shouting loudly back and forth until the woman wearing the dress walked off.

"What a coincidental landing," Liz mumbled. "Who even watches Bridezilla? This show is rediculous."

"Why is she so angry?" Patty asked, her face full of questions. "Isn't she happy she's getting married?"

"Women like that are what we call control freaks," Liz stated folding her arms. "She isn't happy because the bridesmaid doesn't like the dress she picked and refuses to wear it. She wants everything her way."

"She's scary," Patty said as she hugged a pillow. "Maka wasn't like that yesterday."

"She is a far more reasonable woman," Kid added in from the dining room. "It would be impossible for her to act like that. She wants everyone to be happy on our big day."

Liz turned the channel when the woman started to fight with her fiance' about the guest list. Women were so ugly when it came to weddings. Liz knew she was not rushing into any marriage any time soon. She was practicly going through the motions with Kid and Maka. A knock sounded from the front and Patty ran to answer it. She quickly returned with the afore mentioned Maka and hanging from the arm of the death scythe.

"They're here Kid," she chirped excitedly as she pulled Soul over to the couch.

"Hey everyone," Maka greeted them with a wave. She went into the dining room and greeted her fiance' with a quick kiss then sat to brainstorm with him.

"You're early," he said. "Did things go that smoothly?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Maka assured him.

In the living room Patty was enlightening Soul to the strange behavior of women during such a time as they were going through. He listened sideways as he stared at the quickly changing television screen. Liz flipped further through the channels with no real aim.

_She seems pretty calm. Does she remember yesterday? Maybe she's just gotten over it... It wasn't really anything anyway. Or maybe-_

"Hey Soul," Liz yawned, stealing him from his thoughts.

"Nothing to watch?" he stated with little interest.

"You wanna go do something?" she asked, putting down the remote. "TV is boring anyway."

"Yeah! Let's go swimming!" Patty exclaimed throwing a fist in the air.

"That's sounds like a good idea," Liz agreed. "You feel like going for a dip Soul?"

"I didn't bring a pair of trunks," he started but the girls took an arm and proceeded to drag him to the mansion's pool.

"Don't worry, Kid has a whole bunch of extras," Patty sang as they walked.

Liz found him a pair of black trunks with skulls on the outside part of the legs. While he changed the girls also got into their swimsuits. Liz wore her black and pink striped bikini while Patty wore her rainbow colored one. They went out to the pool to find Soul sitting by the edge with his foot making ripples in the water. He was a sitting duck. Patty ran up to him, completely unaware of the mischievious expression on her sister's face. She dived in with a big splash, completely wetting the white haired weapon. That's when Liz striked. She snuck behind him while he wiped the water from his face and pushed him in with her foot.

"That was not cool," he said, glaring at the pistol as she laughed.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" She stood confidently with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

Her confidence wavered as Soul climbed out of the pool and came after her. She ran around the pool screaming for Patty to intervene but she was having to much fun watching. Soul would never purposely hurt Liz. Despite this she screamed as the death-scythe caught her wrist and flung her into the pool. Patty clapped at his won revenge. Soul jumped in after Liz and swam up next to Patty.

"That was terrible Soul!" Liz called angrily after him.

He just laughed and splashed her. "Do you really think you can get one on me then walk away?"

Liz splashed him back. "Go swim or something," she retorted.

Patty and Soul raced a few times from one side of the pool to the other. They tied until Patty got that cramp in her leg and Soul had to get her to the stairs. Patty sat for a few minutes before she went to get a towel and sit out of the pool for a little bit. Liz went out to swim now that it was safe to do so. She would have been crazy to join while they were racing.

"This is nice," Liz sighed as she stopped by the wall. "Us hanging out like this. I hope we can stay like this..."

"Of course we will," Soul assured her.

"What if one us got married or something? I mean, Maka and Kid are getting married and everyone is excited for them and the wedding, but what about after the wedding?" Liz looked at the white haired man with worry. "Everything will change won't it?"

Soul swam around to her side and leaned back against the wall. "Nothing will change. Things are still the same despite Tsubaki and Black Star dating. Why would anything change now? We're still friends. All of us. It'll just be easier to keep up with everyone." He smiled his signature sharp tooth smile.

"I guess you're right..." she sighed.

"Of course I am."

"But Soul...What if we got married to different people? Me, you, and Patty. Then we'll all be seperated."

Soul looked serious now. Something was really bothering Liz.

"Liz, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone worried and protective. "You can tell me."

Liz looked into his red eyes. The diner scene from the other day replayed in her head and she knew her cheeks were reddening. Liz quickly dived and swam back to the steps of the pool. Soul stared after her, frustrated. Something was definently wrong.

"Liz-"

"Don't worry about it," she called to him as she took up her towel. "I'm fine! I'm going inside for lunch, you coming?"

Soul just shook his head and climbed out of the pool to follow the girls out. Women were forever confusing. Especially ones named Liz Thompson.

_What is going on? I was completely over it and going about my day just fine until he started being all sensitive and caring about me. Why does he have to do that? Can't I just suffer alone? _Liz hid her untimely sighing by wiping her face dry in the towel._ I can't even deny the fact that I was totally staring at his abs the whole time we were swimming... What the heck is happening to me~?_

Soul rubbed his hair dry as they split up into changing rooms, unaware of the thoughts running through the woman in front of him. _She must still be mad about it then. She wouldn't even say what was relly bothering her. Great. I guess I just have to go apologize. _Once he was changed back into his clothes he waited in the living room for the women. The best way to handle an angry Elizabeth was to take it all at once. Patty and Liz came back out and greeted him with a smile.

"I want to go out for lunch so we don't disturb Kid and Maka," Liz said. "You okay with that?"

"Yeah, I'm completely cool with that," Soul remarked as he stood.

"Yaay! Time to eat!" Patty shouted just a little to loudly as she ran to the door.

She ran out leaving Liz and Soul to chase after her before she started running people over. They caught up to her and stoppped her in her tracks. The place of choice today was a nice italian resturaunt with outside tables. Patty wanted pasta. They occupied one of the adorable little tables with an umbrella for shade. After they ordered Patty left to the bathroom and the two weapons were once again left alone. Soul took the leap while he had the chance.

"Liz, I'm sorry about the other day," he said quickly as if the words wouldn't come out fast enough.

"You mean at the diner? Oh, don't worry about it, it's history," she replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Alright," he said. "As long as you're okay with it."

"That was just a joke right?" she inquired, leaning in just a little. She was fine with it, sure, but he at least had to tell her that much.

"Yeah, it was a joke," he answered. "I was getting back at you for that bum comment you had made."

Liz was admittedly disappointed with his answer but not more so than the relief she felt clearing her head of that embbarrasing moment and the accompanying emotions it raised.

"Well it was true," she defended. "If it means anything, you don't look like one today."

Soul laughed at that. "Glad you think so."

Patty returned just before their food came to their table. They talked for hours about the difficulty of living with a soon to be married couple. One thing they agreed on, it was something they would not want to put anyone else through. Well, everyone accept Patty who wanted to marry her knight in shining armor.

_At least one of us have some ambition. For now I'm happy with the way things are between the three of us. Just friends._

Let's see if we can't change that mind set of yours Liz. :)


	3. Chapter 3: First Step: Acceptance

A/N: The scene with BlackStar and Tsubaki is for effect, work with me. Please. :3

The time until the wedding was quickly winding down and things were getting hectic. The amount of things they had to do were still the size of a small hill in papers and the future Mr. and Mrs. Death were starting to fall under the stress. Maka started staying nights over at the mansion which also meant so did Soul and sometimes even Blair.

"Things sure are getting exciting, huh?" Blair asked, her hand raised in a paw like fashion. "Even Blair is getting excited now!"

"I know right?" Patty agreed after another sip of her milkshake. "Wow, I wonder what it's gonna be like when I get married~"

Liz shook her head at the daydreaming duo. After witnessing the melt downs and late nights of the engaged couple they were really still wishing for someone to drag into the abyss with them? "I'll never understand this," the pistol sighed. She leaned back in her chair. "The whole ceremony thing is nice and all, but this is just to much to go through for one day."

"The ceremony is one day but it lasts forever," Blair tried to reason with the unseeing weapon. "At least that's what Maka told me. Blair's only a cat so she doesn't have to get married, but how much fun it must be to get to wear a beautiful gown like the one Maka has. You're gonna be so surprised when you see it- It's amazing!"

"Maka looks great in it too," Soul added. "She had it tailored so it'd fit just right. She got lucky that Kid was the one who proposed to her. There's no limit to how big the wedding can be."

Liz sighed at the thought of all that expensive jewelry and accessories drapping from Maka's person. She got hella lucky on Kid. "So what do you guys want to do today? Kid and Maka have the house a mess while trying to finish sorting out everything. We have to stay away for the day."

"Blair knows just the thing!" the magical cat exclaimed happily. "Why don't we plan the party?"

"Wow, Maka get's a party too?" Patty replied with large eyes.

"Yep! And it's just for Maka and her lady friends. Kid gets one too," she explained. "Kid gets to have all his man friends over for a night of fun and regrets!"

Soul almost choked on his milkshake. "What do you mean regrets?" he snapped. "Don't even think about it Blair!"

The cat laughed. "Blair knows the man friends get to plan Kid's party, but what kind of party doesn't end with a little regret?"

"A safe one where he actually makes it to his wedding," Soul retorted. "We'll worry about the parties later. Why don't we see if we can't get in contact with any of the others? We should try to figure out when they're going to be back. There's only about three months until the wedding now."

"I'll text Tsubaki and see if they're in the middle of something," Liz said as she pulled out her cell and started tapping away at the keyboard. She got a quick reply. "She says they were just resting after the long morning."

"Tell her to get to a computer so we can talk," Soul said as he stood. "Mind if we go to my place so we can talk with them through my web cam?"

They followed the white haired death scythe to his residence. Soul unlocked the door and invited everyone to his room for a chat with the absentees. He set up the computer on the bed side table so it faced the middle of the room. Everyone piled in and tried to get in range of the camera.

Tsubaki shook the sleeping man next to her. "BlackStar wake up," she said softly. "Liz wants to talk to us over the computer."

BlackStar sat up, stretched, then turned to wrap his arms around the weapon's waist and rest his face in the crook of her neck. Tsubaki giggled at the feeling of his breath against her skin. "BlackStar," she said through giggles. "Get up."

"Alright, I'm awake," he yawned. "What is it?"

The screen was black for about ten minutes before they got a view of BlackStar's large forehead.

"BLACKSTAR!" they all shouted, startling the blue haired assassin.

"Oh, hey guys!" he greeted them with his signature grin. "I see you all couldn't stand being away from my greatness for so long- you couldn't even wait for my return!"

Tsubaki giggled in the background.

"Of course not BlackStar," Soul smiled. "We were actually wondering when you and Tsubaki would be getting back. There's only a few more months until Maka and Kid's wedding."

"We're done with the mission as of this morning so we should be heading back soon. Right Tsubaki?"

The black haired weapon got into the the camera's range. "Yes, we'll be on our way back by tomorrow afternoon. We should be back in Death City by the weekend."

"Hurry back so we can start planning the parties!" Blair interjected enthusiasticly.

"So how have you all been?" Tsuabki inquired. "Is everyone doing alright?"

"We're fine if you don't include the late nights and huge levels of stress," Liz said, answering for the missing couple. "Maka and Kid are completely engulfed in getting ready for the wedding."

"I bet it's going to be beauiful," Tsubaki mused. "I can't wait to get back and see everyone."

"We can't wait to have you guys back here with us," Soul remarked.

They talked back and forth for hours until the sun began to set in Death City. They didn't want to break up but the pistols would need to get food for their meister 'less he starve himself. His dedication was not something to play with at all. He would have refuse to eat until everything was finished had the women not threatened to throw off every symmetrical thing in the house.

"We'll see you guys soon!" Patty said.

"Hurry up and come back," Soul said to the grinning assassin on the other end.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know things have been pretty boring without me but you'll have to manage until we get there," he replied.

"See you all soon," Tsubaki said before the cameras were turned off.

Soul put down the top of his laptop and stood. "Now we have to get those meisters of ours some food. What do you think they want?"

"Maybe they would like some fish?" Blair asked innocently.

"I think it's a great idea but none of us could make it edible," Liz pointed out. "Let's get them something they could eat without a big mess. They'll most likely eat while working."

The troop walked down to the nearest carry-out resturaunt and ordered two bowls of udon noodles. They would have to stop to eat it but that was probably for the best. A break, by now, would do them some good. Liz opened the door to the mansion and Patty walked in carrying the food with the others filing in behind her.

"We got dinner!" Patty announced loudly.

When there was no reply they went into the dining room but found it empty. They weren't in the kitchen or living room either. Had they gone out for dinner on their own? Liz went up to her room to get her phone charger since it was almost dead and happened by Kid's room. The door was cracked so she peered inside. She bit her lip to keep from 'aww'ing loudly. They were asleep in Kid's bed. Maka was lying in Kid's arms with her head tucked sweetly into his chest and his arms hugging her close, his head resting in her hair. She turned on her phone and took a quick picture before closing the door.

"There you are," Soul said from behind, startling her. "I started to think you got lost in your own house."

"O-oh! No, I just had to close Kid's door," she said quickly. "I'll go grab my charger." She hurried away to her room.

She found the small black charger sitting on her bed. She grabbed it and ran back down the hall to where Soul was still standing. She went down the stairs with Soul following and regrouped with the others in the living room.

"I left the noodles in the refrigerator for them," Patty reported.

"That's good," Liz said. "They're asleep in Kid's room so they'll probably eat late."

"I was thinking about everyone staying at me and Maka's place," Soul suggested. "We can stay out of their way and if they need something they can text me or you."

"Yeah, sure. I don't have a problem with that."

With everyone unanomous the Thompsons packed clothes for about a week then followed Blair back to the apartment. Soul carried their bags for them. When they reached the front door, he gave Blair the key to open the door.

"A slumber party at Soul's house~!" Patty sang happily. "So what are we going to do first?"

"First we're going to figure out where you will be sleeping," Soul replied playfully. "You two can take Maka's room. You don't mind sharing a bed do you? We have some extra sheets if you want to sleep on the couch."

"That's not nice Soul," Blair stated. She had reverted back to her cat form and sat on the arm of the couch. "If they don't want to share beds you should offer them your bed."

"Wow Soul," Liz said as she moved to pet the cat, "even the cat's a better host than you."

Soul snorted and went upstairs. Liz laughed and picked up her bags. Soul came back down with a sheet and pillow. "There," he sighed and dropped them on the couch. "Someone can have my room. Happy now?"

"I guess so," Liz sighed and walked up the stairs to his room. "Patty, you take Maka's room. Goodnight Soul and Blair~"

Soul grumbled as he set the couch up for him to sleep on. They took turns in the bathroom, each one going to sleep almost instantly after a warm shower. Liz lay awake in Soul's room that night. Time had passed quickly and it had been about two weeks since he apologized to her about the diner incident. She thought that once that was over everything would go back to normal. Words couldn't describe how wrong she was. Liz had made it seem like she was taking a hit by taking Soul's room, but that wasn't true either.

"This room smells just like you Soul. I really don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it does." Liz looked around the room at the posters on the wall and books stacked on the shelf. "I never took you for much of a reader," she thought aloud. _Okay, this is just weird. Why am I acting like some creepy stalker person? The longer I stew here... _The sound of footsteps just outside the door made her pause. Her heart beat so heavily she could have sworn it was loud enough to usher them in, but the footsteps faded. She let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. _Oh Soul... Why did you have to find a way to ruin everything? We were doing just fine as friends until you had to go and pull that stupid stunt. It probably wouldn't have even been that good a kiss anyway... Ack! No, no, no! Liz what are you doing? Don't think things like that- he's your best friend! _She turned over in the bed and tried to force herself to sleep.

Downstairs Soul was also wide awake to his own discomfort. Things had admitedly not been the same since the scene he created at the diner. Even he couldn't ignore that. Luckily no one else had noticed the slight changes. He never stood more than a foot close to her, his coolness was much more forced when talking to her now, things were just awkward. He tried so hard to blame it on the whole friends getting married thing but he knew it was much more than that. When they had stared so strongly into eachother's eyes he had seen something there. That was the exact thing keeping him awake now.

_She's your best friend! Friends don't... Well, actually, BlackStar and Tsubaki did it. Maka and Kid are beyond doing it... Wait- What the- C'mon Soul snap out of it! Even if you did accept your feelings, why would Liz? She was over it all so easily. It wasn't anything to her. _Soul sighed aloud and ran a hand through his hair. Since when did friendship become this complicated? No one would have disagreed to their relationship, he was sure, but still it would be weird. Liz wasn't like Tsubaki or Maka- she was a girl who liked expensive things and money. How was he even going to take care of her if they did get together? _Wait, we're not together and it's not happening any time soon! _Soul was easily more confused now than he had ever been.

"Can't sleep?" the small black cat asked from her perch on the back of the couch.

"Y-Yeah," Soul answered turning away from her. The last thing he needed was for Blair to find out. "It's nothing."

"It's Liz isn't it?" she asked, licking her paw nonchalantly.

Soul rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw the way you were looking at her~" Blair purred. "It was unmistakable. You have a little crush on her don't you?"

Soul sat up and stared aggitatedly at the cat. "You have crushes in grade school. I'm to old for that kind of thing, it's not cool."

"Then do you find her attractive? Is that better?" she teased with a flick of her tail.

"Why are you even still awake?" Soul retorted and layed back down.

"Don't worry Soul, I won't tell anyone." she assured him before curling up to sleep.

"There's nothing to tell," he grumbled angrily.

The next morning started out as normal as any other. The house was quiet as Soul stretched awake. He got up from the couch and yawned widely. He had almost forgotten he had invited the Thompson's over until he went up to brush his teeth. Liz stopped mid brush when he came to the door. He was about to leave knowing how she was about her bathroom time but she waved him in. "Are you sure?" he asked, carefuly walking in behind her.

She nodded and moved over so he could get to the sink. "ot i ah oo(Not my bathroom)," she managed over her toothbrush.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked as he readied his toothbrush.

_I slept amazing, thank you very much. Your room was very comfortable. _Liz stopped brushing to answer, "your room stinks."

Soul smiled before starting the brush over his sharp teeth. They stared into the mirror as they brushed, neither sparing a glance at the other. The entire air of the bathroom had changed once he had walked in. They tried not to display any specific feeling in their faces as they stared. Liz tried not to get lost in his adorably sleepy red eyes and the lazy set of his features. Soul, on the other hand, was trying to avoid her soft, morning blue eyes. They were just as mesmerizing in the morning before she was completely awake.

"I didn't take you for the vain type," Liz said at a short interval in which she tried to get her eyes on something else besides his sleepy ones.

"I'm not," Soul replied simply, glad for the diversion. "Someone's bound to be staring at these teeth so I'd rather be careful than embarrassed later."

"That makes sense," she nodded then continued to brush her teeth.

Liz continued for a few extra minutes before finally rinsing her mouth and toothbrush. Soul stopped after her and rinsed his brush. He followed her out and stopped in front of his room. "Oh, do you want to go first? It is your room." She stepped aside to let him in.

"No, I can wait for you," he said quickly. "You go ahead."

"Here," she went inside then returned with an armfull of clothes. "I'll change in the bathroom and you can have your room."

She went into the bathroom and closed the door. Soul turned around to see Blair waving from the bottom of the stairs, a knowing smile on her face. He glared at her then went into his room. Patty walked over to Blair. Something weird was going on and she wanted to know what.

"Is there something wrong with sis?" she asked the magical cat as they set out breakfast. "She was acting all weird just now."

Blair giggled playfully. "There's nothing wrong," she answered. "Blair knows but she promised Soul not to say anything~ Sorry!"

"Aww~!"

"Watch them closely and you'll see it. It's not really a big secret, even Blair knows it."

Soul and Liz came down for breakfast dressed very casually.

"Good Morning~!" Patty greeted them. "We bought breakfast! Hope you like it."

Soul and Liz remained uncharacteristically silent as they ate. Patty looked worriedly at Blair who just waved back. Something weird was going on and if Blair knew, then it must be something big. How could the cat know what was going on before her?

"Are you okay sis?" the pistol asked her sister. "You're acting all weird.."

"I'm fine Patty," Liz assured her sister with a smile. "I'm just not feeling very talkative right now. It's still so early, my brain's still trying to wake up."

"No surprise there," Soul said just loud enough for her to hear.

Liz's smile faded as she turned to him. "Are you trying to say something albino?"

"I'm not saying anything," he insisted.

"I heard that little remark of yours," she snapped. "Are you trying are to say I'm slow?"

"You said it not me," he smirked.

They were thrown into another one of their meaningless arguements just like that. Blair smiled and ate her fish to the show. Patty laughed aloud. Now things were back to normal. They argued back and forth through breakfast then ceased to talk for a few hours because they had actually managed to make eachother mad. Sitting alone in Maka's room Liz calmed herself by screaming into a pillow.

"That stupid albino!" she screamed. "Sometimes I just want to strangle him! He's so annoying!" She appreciated the time away from everyone though. No matter how hard she tried to be normal, things between them were to different now. She'd never admit it out loud but...just maybe...she liked that stupid albino. No more than a simple crush though.

"Maybe if I can keep it to myself it'll go away on it's own," she asked herself. "If we keep fighting like this everyone'll think we hate eachother and I don't hate him. I just want to stay friends."

Liz put her face in the pillow and screamed out her frustration. In the other room Soul stared distantly into the cieling. Liz had left her sheets on his bed. They were still a little warm. Soul turned on his side and closed his eyes. He breathed in her scent from the sheets and an undeniable feeling came over him. His heart began to beat faster, his stomach was in knots just from the smell. Soul sat up and started to pace the room.

"I guess there's no denying it now," he sighed, somewhat relieved for the finality of it all. "I have a thing for Liz, huh?"

"I knew it!"

Soul almost jumped out of his skin as the cat appeared from under his bed. "When did you get there?" he shrieked.

"I heard you say it," she mewed. "You do have a thing for Liz."

"H-Hey, don't go around telling everybody, okay? Just because I do doesn't mean I can go acting on it." Soul sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why not? You like her so just go for it," Blair insisted.

"It's not that simple," he replied. "Just because I like her doesn't mean she feels the same way about me. Even if she does, this is Liz we're talking about. I can't do just anything..."

"You humans sure do like to make things difficult," she mewed. "I think if you want something you should do your best to make it happen. She's your best friend so you should know everything about her. If I find out if she's interested, will you try to win her over?"

Soul raised an eyebrow at the cat. It was bad enough he was talking to her so openly about it all, but to get her directly involved? Not to mention the wedding preparations and things they had to help with. This was starting to be to much for one death scythe to handle..

"No, we need to be focusing on the wedding right now," Soul concluded.

"Wow, already thinking about marriage, you must be serious~"

"You know what I mean Blair," Soul snapped aggitatedly. "Let's go see if Maka or Kid need something. We should be putting our energy into something useful like forwarding their lives."

"Alright~" Blair mewed disappointedly. Once Soul was on his way downstairs Blair started forming her plot. She was determined to get those two together if it was the last thing she did, and hopefully it wouldn't be.


	4. Chapter 4: Blair to The Rescue!

A/N: I apologize for any mispells or wierd wording, it's late and I could not reread this chapter. Sumimasen... m(_ _)m

* * *

The simplest part of it all was accetping the fact that, yes, she knew and yes that meant everything else that came with her knowing. Things always seemed simpler before Blair had come into his life. Every day she wasn't there was taken for granted and Soul wished to Death that he had been better about those days and not wasted them doing something stupid. Well, it was to late now.

"Come on~," Blair urged as she tried to push his leg with her kitty paws. "Maka said she they needed coffee. It's a full tme thing planning a wedding you know!"

"Isn't that what the wedding planner's for?" Soul asked grumpily as he started out the door.

"Hey, I told Maka you would get them some coffee," Blair stated innocently.

Soul glared at the cat. "Why do you always have to make work for me? Can't I just deal with what I already have?"

"You're the one who wanted to help didn't you?" the magical cat mewed teasingly.

"Don't remind me... By the way, why are you coming along?"

"I just want to make sure that you don't get the wrong thing~"

Soul rolled his eyes. Of course not. They walked up to Deathbucks and joined the other thousands of people in line. It was at least twenty minutes before he got to the front of the line. The girl at the counter smiled as she asked him what he wanted.

Soul shouldered the door open and made his way out back towards death mansion with the aquired item. Blair walked next to him humming a little tune. Soul found his way to ignoring the annoying cat, but now there was a bad feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach. What was she so happy about? Blair continued to hum the entire way up to the mansion until Soul stopped in front of the doors. He frowned as he balanced the drinks in one hand and knocked with the other.

"Coming~!" a familiar voice chirped before the door was opened. "Oh, hey Soul!" Patty greeted him with a smile. "Did you bring coffee for Maka and Kid too?"

"What do you mean 'too'?" he asked, his voice edged with annoyance.

"Sis and I brought some up earlier."

Blair walked up past them into the house, her little kitty hips twitching triumphantly. Patty let Soul in and closed the door behind him. Soul walked into the dining hall to find Maka and Kid still drinking at the coffees the sisters had brought earlier. Maka looked up and smiled.

"Hi Soul," she waved. "Did you bring that for the girls?"

"For the girls?" Soul echoed, his eye twitching very uncooly.

"Hey, thanks," Liz said as she stole one from the tray. "Actually, Patty had some of Kid's and she wasn't feeling to good afterwards, so you can have it."

"You know, Blair can help with stuff here," the cat mewed. "Why not take your coffee out on a walk? Blair doesn't mind at all."

_Of course you don't stupid cat, _Soul thought angrily.

"That sounds nice," Liz sighed, "but if anyone needs a break it's Maka and don't you two go for a walk or something? We can take care of things here."

"A break does sound nice," Maka sighed. "But all this-"

"Is stuff the wedding planner is suppose to be doing, isn't it?" Liz interjected. "Why are you two doing so much anyway?"

"We just want everything to be perfect," Kid said. "The symmetry must be just a beautiful as the ceremony! It's an important part of the design we chose."

"You two definently need a break," Soul stated. "Go out for a while and we'll take care of things."

"Are you sure?" Maka asked as she stretched her aching arms.

"Of course," Liz smiled. "We'll get everything organized for you, it's a mess in here. You two just go out and have some fun!"

"Well if everyone's so adament..." Maka stood and took Kid's hand. "We'll back in a few hours then."

"Thanks," Kid said, relieved for the break in their busy schedule.

"Don't feel obligated to hurry back," Liz said as they walked out. "It'll be waiting for you when you get back."

Blair escorted them out. _This isn't exactly what Blair had in mind but I guess it could work~ _They heard the door close as the happy couple left. Patty frowned at the papers strwen all over the table. Just looking, it was nothing but papers; the table was covered completely. Blair walked back in and jumped up on the table.

"This is a lot of paper," she speculated as she walked the length of the table.

"The sooner we start the more likely we'll be finished before they get back," Soul sighed as he put down the coffee.

"Let's get it where we can see the table first," Liz said as she started piling the papers. "It'll be easier if we start like this."

They went to work, stacking the papers first then sorting them out. It was amazing just how many different ways Kid could work symmetry out of one theme. Patty handed papers to Liz, who looked it over and if it didn't match anything in her piles she handed it to Soul who did the same. They had written a lot of notes on what they needed to buy for the arrangement so those went in Blair's pile. It was probably- okay definently- the most boring work she had ever done in her life, but it was worth it if she could get Soul and Liz to talk to eachother. They hadn't said much since Kid and Maka left.

"This is amazing," Liz sighed, "How in the world did they come up with all of this? I hope whoever I get stuck with doesn't put me through something like this.."

"Blair thought you didn't want to get married," the magical cat interjected.

"Well, who knows," she quickly defended. "I can say that but it doesn't mean I won't end up meeting someone I might want to marry. Th-There's no rush though."

"All this stuff is crazy," Patty commented as she threw down a piece of paper. "This is to much!"

"You can take a break if you want I want to finish this before they get back," Liz said.

"I'll go with you!" Blair said as she transformed back into a cat and ran after Patty. "This is way boring."

The two of them walked out, leaving Soul and Liz to finish the rest.

"There's still so much to do," Soul sighed. "I think I'll leave the rest to you.."

"You better not! It'll take forever doing this on my own," the pistol snapped.

"You're the one who offered to do this."

She pouted and widened her eyes cutely. "Pleeeaassse?"

Soul narrowed his eyes and started towad the door. _There's no way I'm playing into that stupid cat's plan. _"I didn't offer to do it," he said without a twinge of guilt.

"Soul~ Come on!" Liz turned around in her chair. "Hey..."

"Sorry." He stopped in front of the door and looked back over his shoulder.

Liz's expression fell and she turned back around. "Fine. Just go, I don't need your help anyway. I can do it myself." She started back into the pile Patty had.

Soul spared a sharp toothed smile before returning to the table. He was going to leave her, really, but then she had to go and start acting all cool. That was the woman he had fallen in love with. _Wait... Hm... I guess so then. _There was no point in denying it. They had known eachother long enough, he could say sat down next to her and she looked at him, her face relieved that she didn't have to do it herself.

"Changed your mind?" she asked as she went back to sifting through the papers.

"Yeah," he answered simply, taking a pile from her."It'd be really uncool for me to leave you hear to do all of this by yourself."

Liz smiled a little. The afore mentioned black cat poked her nosey little head back into the room and smiled. "Looks like Blair's plan worked," she purred. "They look so happy~" She disappeared again before either weapon could spot her.

Thanks to Soul, Liz was able to finish within the hour. The put all the organized piles in the middle of the table so there wouldn't be any accidents.

"Finally," Liz sighed exasperatedly, "we're done."

"Yeah," Soul sighed next to her.

"Remind me not to volunteer to ever do something like that again.."

"Never again."

She turned her head to face him. Both weapons laid there heads on the table and stared at eachother. Liz closed her eyes and stood quickly. "I'm going to get something to drink," she said as she walked briskly out of the room. _You can't do that! Stop it Liz! I know he's unfairly attractive but he's still your best friend! No matter how sweet and caring and... or how good he smells! It's nice that he doesn't smell like most, but that's just Soul! He always smells good... _

Liz took a bottled water from the frige and leaned back on the counter. Things were starting to get difficult. Every moment she spent with him was becoming like some sort of torture! Her heart wanted to beat faster when she saw him, making it difficult to breathe; her stomach went into nervous knots, which made smiling that much harder. She had to keep up the charade though. It wasn't like he felt the same way anyway. When she had looked into his eyes just a few minutes ago they weren't like they had been that afternoon. He obviously didn't feel the same about her that she felt about him.

"That doesn't stop my feelings though," she whispered into the mouth of the bottle.

"Is something wrong?"

Liz almost threw her water bottle at the suddenly appearing cat. She stood frozen with the water bottle held over her head.

"Don't do that!" she screamed. "You scared the crap outta me!"

"Sorry," Blair mewed apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You looked really uncomfortable a few minutes ago."

Liz put the water bottle down on the counter and sighed. "I'm fine Blair. Nothing a shinigami's weapon can't handle! I'm perfectly...fine..." Who was she kidding? She was definently not fine. She was falling in love with her best friend- things were far from fine! But, she couldn't tell Blair that.

The cat tilted her head. "You don't sound fine," she speculated. "Why don't we go to your room and you tell Blair all about it?"

"I don't know... It's really personal," Liz said nervously. "I can't imagine telling anyone."

"Blair's a cat," she stated, "who else can you trust? I'm even a female like you! You can tell me, female-to-female."

The stress of it all was becoming a lot to deal with on her own... Then again this was Blair she was thinking about revealing her feelings to, someone very close to Soul. It was to risky, far to risky.

"No, it's alright Blair," she concluded. "I can handle this myself. I already know what to do and everything. Don't worry."

Liz took her bottle and went up to her room. Blair's ears dropped and she sighed.

"So close," she mewed. "But what did she say? I only caught the last part, "I feel." What was she talking about?"

Blair jumped down from the counter and walked into the livingroom where Patty and Soul were sitting. He looked far less aggitated than Liz had. Blair knew the white haired death scythe o be somewhat of a clutz when it came to dealing romanticly. Knowing him, he said something without thinking and ruined everything. The cat glared at him. Just when it looked like they were getting along so well! She jumped up into his lap.

"What did you do?" she asked sternly.

Soul looked down at the obviously angry cat. "What? I didn't do anything, what are you talking about?" More women confusion?

"Liz looked very sad just now," she said. "You did something to her."

"No, I didn't. I helped her finish organizing then she left to get some water," Soul explained. "I don't know why she would be upset."

"Yeah, Soul wouldn't hurt big sis," Patty defended.

Blair their word for it and jumped down from Soul's lap. Then something else must have been wrong. Maybe it was just the sign she needed! It would take more than that to get Soul moving though. Time to ready plan B!

Liz sat on her bed staring indignently at her cell phone screen. It beeped then a little envelope appeared on the screen. She opted to check her text messages and opened one from Tsubaki.

_hi! wats up?_

Liz tapped quickly at her phone's keyboard. She was pouring her heart and so- her everything into that text. If there was anyone that could help the pistol right then, it was her. She finished then hit send. It was a good five minutes before she got a reply.

_Oh, i c! gr8, gud 4 u!_

She smiled nervously as she texted back and hit send.

_omg he dont no?! y u no tell him? _

Liz layed back on her bed and texted back. This was going to be a long afternoon.

_ok, but u 3 him, rite?_

She sighed and typed. It was a fair guess that she definently felt strongly about him.

_mhm... go 4 it! u 3 him, u shuld tell him. :) _

Liz sat up, her eyes wide at the fellow weapon's response. Tell him? Just like that?! That straight forward stuff might have worked fine for her and BlackStar, but it was not something she would just do. Besides, she didn't know if he felt the same way and she was not one to shoot into the dark and hoped she hit something. Well, not in this case anyway.

_watch him ( _ ) men are very strange with their emotions, they show it in wierd ways. look for the signs..and if b(^.^), then you tell him! :O  
we'll b bck in town in 2 days so i can help you when i get bck if you want to w 4 me.  
_

Liz smiled at the message and giggled as she replied.

_alrite! cya! 3 U XOXOXO_

Liz put her phone down next to her and sighed. Tsubaki to the rescue! Oh, she had to remember to buy her something really nice for when she got back. All of this wedding preparation and falling in love was just to much for one woman to handle! Neither of them were something she could change, no matter how hard she wanted to. Soul was a cool guy, no doubt, but how would you approach someone like that? The shy type would only annoy him, coming on to strong would turn him away but he likes the strong type, judging by his attitude. Liz pulled frustratedly at her hair.

"Why do these things just happen to me?" she whined. "How come I don't ever have a choice in the matter? It's my life right! Why couldn't I choose who to fall in love with?"

The real question was who would she have chosen? Who else knew her better than Soul? No one else could probably handle her attitude. Soul knew how to handle her. He knew her favorite foods, what she didn't like, how to get her to smile no matter how mad she was with him, all of her ticklish spots. Liz smiled as the list rolled through her mind. There was no one else, as painful a thought as that was. She was going to loose her bestfriand for a...boyfriend? It was still to wierd. Worse yet, what about Patty? They were like the three muskateers, inseperable! If she started dating Soul then Patty would be a third wheel and it would be all the more aawkward hanging out.

"I can't do that to her," Liz whined. "Hmm~ What if I could get Patty a boyfriend as well? Then it wouldn't be so wierd if we did start dating." It sounded as natural as anything coming from her mouth, but thinking about it made her blush madly. "I'd start dating Soul..." She shook her head free of the fantasies crawled under her covers. "This whole thing is giving me a head ache~"

Downstairs Patty lay sleeping on the couch with the tv off. Blair was curled up next to her, also sleeping soundly. Soul stared out the window distantly. It was late evening but he didn't notice. He replayed the image of Liz staring at him in the dining hall in his mind. She had left so suddenly.

"Was it me?" he asked his reflection. "Did I do something wrong? Gah! Why are women so confusing?!"

"What was that about women?"

Soul looked over to see Maka and Kid come in with some bags. He smiled and got up to help them.

"What's all this?" he asked. peeking through the bags.

"I'm making dinner tonight for Kid," Maka announced proudly. "I suppose I could make enough for everyone if you stay."

"Yeah, we'll stay if your askin'," the death scythe replied.

"Where is everyone?" Kid asked. "It's so quiet.."

"They're all asleep," Soul answered. "So, did you two have fun or what?"

Maka smiled at Kid over her shoulder. "Yeah, we had a lot of fun. I wanted to thank you guys so I was going to make something really nice for dessert. You know, there's a lot of things for couples to do around the city."

Soul leaned forward on the counter on his elbows and rested his head in his hands. "No kidding," he yawned. "Maybe I'll get to try 'em someday."

Kid raised his eyebrows at Maka who turned away smiling. Soul narrowed his eyes at them and stood up.

"So did you all get the papers organized?" Kid asked to quickly change the subject. "I'm sorry about the huge mess we left for you guys to clean up."

"It wasn't that bad," Soul said. He shoved his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. "There were enough of us to get it done. We just wanted to help you two loosen up. By the way, BlackStar and Tsubaki should be getting back into town in a few days."

"Great!" Maka exclaimed excitedy. "I can't wait to talk to her about everything we've gotten done so far. I'm still so excited for the wedding even though it's still three months away. I wish time would speed so that we could get it over with already!" She attached to Kid's arm and he smiled down at her.

After they got everything put away Maka went to wash up before starting the dinner. Kid sat in the living with Soul nodding off next to him. The death scythe had his head resting in a hand and leaning ever so slightly.

"What was with that comment earlier?" Kid asked, his eyebrows raised moe so in amusement.

"What comment?" Soul asked with closed eyes.

"Don't try to play innocent Soul. So who is she?"

Soul opened a red eye to look at the shinigami. "No one," he said simply.

Kid was far to adament for tha to throw him off. "Come on Soul, you have to tell me. Maybe I can get you two together."

Soul looked away before he started to blush. "It's no one, I told you."

"Ah, you're lying! I see it, you're blushing," the shinigami teased. He was having to much fun. "Do I know her?"

Soul sighed tiredly. "No, you don't know her. Now you have to stop attacking me. I'm going to bed, tell Maka to save me a plate."

Kid watched as the death scythe went up the stairs to the room he knew to be his on occasion. His interest was officially peaked. Soul was interested in someone and it was a someone he knew. Now he only had to find out who it was. Already a plan was forming in this shinigami's mind...

* * *

A/N: I feel like it's going well so far. The more I go through the more often I end up with a new way to drive Soul crazy! Just more people to add into his business. :3


	5. Chapter 5: Second Step: Gaining Ground

Liz stared out the window of her window and sighed as she climbed out of bed. BlackStar and Tsubaki would be returning today and they were going to meet them. She quickly dressed and started down the stairs when Patty came running from her room.

"Mornin' sis!" she greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning," Liz replied with less enthusiasm. She was not a morning person.

"Are you excited to see BlackStar and Tsubaki?" she asked as she descended the stairswith her big sister.

"Yeah, of course! It'll be nice to have another girl here."

"There are already more girls than boys here already," Soul added as they walked into the main room. "BlackStar'll be a breath of fresh air. Are you girls ready to go?"

"Yep! Let's go get 'em!" Patty shouted as she ran out the door.

Liz only laughed at her sister's early morning energy. She had to admit she rarely seemed to tire. If she was going to find a suitor for Patty he would have to be a pretty amazing guy. Soul followed her out the front door and locked it behind them. Kid and Maka were out doing some shopping, they had taken to days off after the others had urged them out of the house the first time. Patty walked between her sister and best friend as they walked down to the meeting spot. She failed to notice the effort either one took to not look at the other. Soul kept his eyes forward while Liz allowed even the smallest detail to defer her attention.

"And when we finish we'll al go and get some..."

Patty stopped talking, not that either weapon noticed. She looked from one to the other, something inside her telling her they were not listening to her at all. Was the street really that much more interesting? Patty scratched her head, confused with their strange behavior.

"Hey! Liz, Patty!"

Liz looked forward and a large smile stretched over her face when she saw the black haired weapon waving to her.

"Tsubaki!" Liz called back.

Patty ran over to them, unable to hold in her excitement any longer. The two weapons embraced as the others reached them. Soul greeted BlackStar with a clean, updated version of their childhood high-five. Liz hugged Tsubaki and the reunited friends started to talk of the recent events.

"It's so good to be back," Tsubaki said as they walked down the street. "I can't wait to get into the rush with you all."

"Actually, Maka and Kid have calmed down recently," Liz sighed. "They're spending more time together relaxing now."

"Yeah," Patty agreed. "They go out a lot now."

The women talk on now about the bridesmaid dresses Maka had picked out for them to wear. Tsubaki seemed to agree that the dress would look nice on all of them if she was picturing it right. The men on the other hand..

"It's been really busy being stuck with all these women for the past two weeks," Soul sighed, glad for the male companion. "Kid's been to busy with Maka to do much else."

"And you haven't been?" the blue haired assassin replied skeptically.

Soul shook his head. "I'm not suicidal BlackStar."

"What are you talking about? Just go upto her and say it! Is it really such a big deal?"

"Yes, it is! This isn't someone you just walk up to and say whatever. That might have worked for you, but _she_ isn't like Tsubaki."

"Whatever you say," he sighed. "I just don't understand what's so hard about it."

"Can we talk about something else? She is walking right in front of us.." Soul suggested shamefully.

Tsubaki stopped and turned to face the men with a bright smile. "Hey, guys, what do you think about splitting up for a bit? It's been a while since we've seen eachother and I'm sure we want to do things together that everyone wouldn't exactly agree to."

"Like what?" BlackStar demanded.

"Like going shopping~!" Patty chirped excitedly.

"We'll see you guys later then," Soul said without a second thought. "We'll meet back up at the mansion or my place."

"The mansion," Liz called back.

"Alright, catch you later!"

The groups split up, neither giving a second glance behind them. Tsubaki pulled the sister pistols into the nearest clothing store. Time to get to work! She started with questions of when she first started to feel the way she did about Soul. The way she talked about it there was no doubt that she was really inot him. Patty listened, her confusion plan on her face.

"You like Soul?" Patty gasped.

"Ah- Y-Yes Patty, I like Soul.." Liz admitted nerously. "Please keep this between us."

"Yes, Patty, you can't tell him because Liz is going to very soon," Tsubaki stated with a smile.

Liz blushed a light red at that. How soon? Liz was suddenly regretting talking to Tsubaki about everything.

"O-Okay," Patty said, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Now, let's get serious," the weapon said. "You have to get alone with ihm to find out how he really feels about you."

"There's no way I could stand being alone with him," Liz whined sadly.

"Of course there is! Now, when you two go out-"

"Go out?! Wait, I thought I was finding out if he liked me or not!"

"Calm down Liz! What you're looking for is any sign of hesitation or reactions to something you do. Listen carefully when he talks to you. Is it soft or is it his usual careless way of speaking- these things matter!"

"I don't think I can do this," the pistol whined, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Of course you can sis! You're so strong, you can d anything- I believe in you," Patty exclaimed.

Liz smiled and hugged her sister. She was so sure of her no matter what. Why couldn't she believe in herself like that? None the less, it was good to have someone there like that. Patty was always a good cheerleader. Liz took a deep breath then turned back to Tsubaki.

"This is one of those things that can't be ignored," Tsubaki said softly. "I know this may be one of the scariest things you've ever done-"

"Actually..." There were a few instances she could remember.

"but this will have a good outcome! Trust me Liz, I'll help you."

"Alright, I trust you Tsubaki."

"There's no way I'm doing something like that!"

"Why not? You want to tell her don't you?" the blue haired assassin asked. This whole thing was becoming to stressful.

"Well..." Soul rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I was thinking that maybe it was okay if we just stayed like this."

"Like what," BlackStar asked with a frown.

"Just friends."

BlackStar stared at the white haired death scythe. Soul grew uncomfortable before BlackStar could muster a reply.

"No you can't," he said finally. "Things can't be the same anymore, even I know that. You have to tell her now."

Soul sat down on a park bench and sighed into his hands. Thing really were hopeless now. He thought that as long as he could accept everything that he could just live with it. Liz had said herself she didn't want to be dragged into long-term thing. What if he ended up wanting more from her? He knew if push came to shove she would drop him without a second thought if he proposed.

"Look, if you want, I'll help you out," Black Star offered as he joined him on the bench. "I don't like to see one of my followers in such situations, so I'm offering my guidance. You'd be a smart man to take it."

Soul looked up at the assassin. "I guess I would be."

Around noon they rondevued at the mansion and went in for lunch. Maka and Kid had returned and had taken the pleasure of cooking for lunch. Tsubaki offered to help but Maka refused. She was a guess and she had just gotten back from such a long, hard mission she deserved a homecooked lunch. The meister ushered her back into the living room and ran back to the kitchen to make sure Kid wasn't burning anything.

Kid looked up from the cake badder he was stiring. "Have you noiced anything strange about Soul lately?" he asked his fiance'.

"Hm? Strange beyond his usual behavior?" his meister asked. "What do you mean?"

Kid finished stiring and started to pour it into the prepared pans. "I mean, does he seem to act differently around anyone?"

Maka put the lid back on the soup and wiped her hands on her apron. "You mean he likes someone and you're trying to pry?"

"Yes," he answered flatly. "It's someone we know. I think it would be good for Soul to be in a relationship. Liz as well. She's the oldest and all this wedding preparation must be driving her crazy."

Maka smiled as she started to pull down plates from the cabinets. "You're so sweet how you worry about everyone even though you're the one getting married."

"I can't help it, I just don't want them to feel left out," he sighed. "I just want them to be as happy as we're going to be."

"Well, in that case I'll keep an eye out on any strange behavior. I wonder what kind of girl Soul would be interested in..."

In the living room the others were catching up. BlackStar was his usual loud self while the others just laughed. They didn't notice how quiet it was until they had come back after all. Liz had to admit she missed the eccentric blue haired man until then.

"Oh yeah~," Patty suddenly remembered something aloud. "We got a present for BlackStar!"

Liz searched through the bags as an excuse to hide her shaking hands. Just sitting in the same room with him was making her so nervous she could barely breath. She took out the black sleeves they had pickd out earlier that day. Liz went to hand them to BlackStar but ended up dropping them. She got up quickly to pick them up- so did Soul. He put his hand on them and her hand landed ontop of his. She looked up at him, containing her urge to runaway.

"I got it," Soul said calmly.

"Right.." Liz replied standing as he did.

Soul tossed them to BlackStar who opened the package without a second thought. The afore mentioned weapons went back to their seats, both obviously disturbed by the scene. Tsubaki smiled at Patty excitedly. _I saw that~ _she thought with a glance at Soul. _I know everything I need to now. Time to set my plan into action! _

Maka walked in untying her apron. "Alright everyone! Come on, the food's ready."

They followed her into the dining hall where Kid was laying out the plates. He pulled out the chairs for all the women before sitting himself.

"I hope you all like everything," Maka said cheerfully.

"I've always enjoyed your cooking Maka," Tsubaki replied honestly.

They all thank her for the food then started to pass around the dishes- it was a rather long table after all. The conversation started up on the mission BlackStar and Tsubaki had been out on. They had gone to retrieve the soul of a killer that had been taking the lives of children. Well, Maka cut BlackStar off after that and proceeded to talk about more pleasant things like getting to see the others for the first time in five years.

"I heard that Ox and Kim are married with kids and everything!" Maka said, still surprised by the news.

"Wow, that's good," Tsubaki said before taking another mouthful of rice.

"Yeah, if they're living so good it makes you want to do something big yourself," BlackStar stated, a sideways glance aimed at Soul.

"That's great," was all Soul allowed himself to say.

"Professor Stein and Marie are together to aren't they?" Liz asked.

"Really?!" Patty gasped. "Didn't see that coming!"

"That's amazing," Tsubaki gasped. "A lot of things have changed so drastically over the years."

"Time waits for no one," Kid replied.

The conversation continued to jump all over the place from jobs to living space to relationships. Liz was relatively silent during that portion of the conversation. It was bound to happen with two couples present, but it didn't make the sting any less worse. After lunch Soul volunteered to clean up. Maka mentioned a desert of some kind before jumping up from the table and running to the kitchen.

"We don't have any icing for the cake," Maka sighed when she came back into the dining room.

"That's not a problem," Kid said as he stood. "Would you mind going down to the store to get us some Soul?"

Soul looked up from stacking the dishes. "Why me?"

"Because you're our personal chore boy," he replied whimsically.

Soul was starting to regret saying he would do anything they asked until the wedding. What had possessed him to say something like thta anyway? He sighed and went to grab his coat. Maka turned to Liz, her face worried.

"Would you please go with him?" she asked, her brow furrowed with genuine worry. "It's not that I don't trust Soul or anything, but.. you know.."

"I'll go just to make sure he gets the right kind," Liz sighed, getting her coat.

She looked out the window. It was raining pretty hard out there and she could see Soul walking without an umbrella. Was he really so stubborn? Liz grabbed her umbrella and ran out after him. All eye fell on Maka as the door was heard closing in the distance. She smiled sweetly.

"That was very clever," Tsubaki applauded the blonde meister.

"So it's Liz," Kid said with a smile. "I honestly did not see that coming."

Maka fit her arms around her shinigami fiance's neck and rested her chin in his black hair. "This is the perfect setting for magical moments. Friends, food, and cake."

They shared in a laugh as Maka picked up the plates. Soul woul probably be upset if things didn't go well, but if they did then, well the five had a lot to hope for when they came back.

"Why did Maka send you after me?" Soul asked, standing close for the umbrella's protection.

"Well, first off, you came out in this rain with no umbrella," Liz said. "Were you trying to get sick?"

"I was already outside by the time I noticed it was raining and I wasn't going to be gone long anyway."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Maka sent me after you to make sure you got the right kind of icing. You didn't even ask."

"I've known all of you for so long I'm retty sure I know what kind of icing everyone can tolerate or agree on," Soul replied.

"Well I'm here to make sure," Liz stated.

The rain started down harder and Liz moved in closer to Soul. Her umbrella was not very big, especially considering Soul's height, she would have to walk close to him. Soul tried to ignore the harsh beating of his heart as she pressed closer to him. He put an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer, er, get her under the umbrella more. Liz was startled at first but didn't move away, in fact, she leaned in closer to him. For all of those ten minutes everything actually felt okay for once in a while. They seperated slowly once they got under the covering of the store's cieling. Liz stared guiltily into his eyes. Soul caught her eyes then quickly looked away to shake off the umbrella.

"S-So what kind of, um, icing did she want us to get?" he asked distractedly.

"She wrote it down for me here," Liz said quickly coming out of her stupor.

Liz held out a piece of paper which he took as he walked past her into the store. She felt her heart sank at his sudden change. So it was only for the sake of her not getting wet and not him trying to make a move on her? Liz followed sullenly behind. _Oh Soul, how quickly I forget how cruel you are sometimes... _They made their way to the aisle containing spices and the things alike.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable holding you like that," he said quickly. "It was your umbrella and all."

"Ah- No! I was fine," Liz replied. "Th-Thank you Soul..."

He smiled meekily before looking back over the shelves. Liz bent down and picked up a jar of creme cheese icing. Soul nodded and they went to stand in the line. Once they were through he reopened the umbrella outside. Soull held out a hand and drew Liz in, his arm over her shoulders. They walked back home this way, close, without a word shared between them. They got some glances from passersby that thought they were "a very romantic couple taking a walk in the rain". Soul removed his arm to open the door and let Liz in first.

"Welcome back~" Patty greeted them enthusiastically. "What kind did you get?"

Liz handed her the creme cheese icing and her littl sister reported it to Maka.

"Sorry about making you two go out in such weather," Kid apologized solemnly. "I didn't know the rain would get so bad.."

"It was no big deal," Soul replied as he put down Liz's umbrella.

"Yeah, we're fine," Liz added a little to cheerfully.

Soul walked away grinning like a cheshire cat and Liz was smiling as well. Something went well. Maka caught Soul on his way buy.

"Hey Soul, I found the icing,"she said. "It turns out we had an unused jar here. Sorry about sending you out in that rain."

Soul just kept grinning. "You're a terrible actress you know."

Maka smiled back. "Yeah, I know."

Liz fell onto the couch between Tsubaki and BlackStar, the smile stilll dominating her features. Tsubaki smiled knowing it had been a success in the end.


	6. Chapter 6: Third Step: Just Say It!

The last week of the month had ended rather eventfully. Liz stared absently at the ceiling as the other women refused to stop looking at her. There was officially only one month left before the wedding but the engaged couple had finished any specifics they wanted in their theme decor and completed the shopping list so Maka was now free to pry into her friend's love life. They had gathered in Liz's room for an all girls meeting.

"Soul isn't the type of guy to beat around the bush," Maka said, "so it's understandable that he would make it so obvious. I just can't believe I was the last one to figure it out."

"Yeah! And I thought you were his meister," Patty commented.

"Didn't we have to practically tell you?" Tsubaki asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah," she replied lowering her head.

"Oh, you guys," Liz sighed, sitting up on her bed, "it was so amazing. I don't think I'd ever felt like that before. It was...it was so wierd- I was so scared but at the same time I was happy too. Is this what love is like?"

"Yes," Maka answered with a smile.

Liz got down onto the floor with the others. "Now that we've both practically admitted that we like eachother..."

"Well," Tsubaki started, "actually what Soul did was test the waters and you just replied approvingly. BlackStar did the same thing."

"Really?!" Patty exclaimed.

"Yep. He wasn't as smooth as Soul though. I was sitting in my room reading when he came in, stole my book from me and just kissed me. His idea was that if I didn't slap him then I must have liked him too."

Maka just shook her head as Tsubaki and Patty laughed at the memory. BlackStar was worlds different from Soul in people skills. The fact that he was such a calm type of guy made him and Liz a perfect couple. Maka was determined to make sure when they got together she would help them make it last.

"Anyway," Tsubaki giggled, "Now that you're both you're on the same page you can tell him without worrying about his rejection."

"It's mission a go!" Patty exclaimed. "Soul and big sis sittin' in a tree~"

"That's right," Maka agreed. "Now you can tell him with no doubt in our mind of how he feels about you."

"I love how sure you all are about this," Liz replied nervously. "Well, when should I tell him?"

"Soon," they said in unison.

"We'll back off so you don't feel pressured," Maka said. "But don't forget we're here to support you!"

They jumped at a knock on the door. Tsubaki opened it and met eyes with the black haired shinigami.

"Maka?" he asked and the blonde meister went to the door. "Do you know if we have any aspirin? Soul's got a slight headache."

"Yeah, I'll get it. Be right back," she said to the others as she went out.

Liz was very suddenly worried. With her luck he'd get sick right when she was about to confess.

"I'm sure he's fine," Tsubaki assured her, reading the other weapon's expression. "It's just a minor headache, I'm sure."

"Right," Liz sighed. "Back to my pep talk please."

Patty started it back up by drawing out a plan that ended up in the shape of a giraffe. They continued when Maka returned with news of Soul looking a little pale. They decided to regroup in the morning and try to come up with a plan that didn't end up as a giraffe.

"Good night," Liz yawned. "Thank you guys for all your help."

"It's no problem," Tsubaki said with a smile. "Sleep well."

"Good night Liz," Maka said as she closed the door.

"Night~!" Patty called back as she ran down the hall to her room.

Soul lay helplessly in bed as his headache started to spread to irritate his sinuses. He pulled up his covers to prevent the chills attacking his vulnerable body. This was all her fault right? She's the one who said it. _"Were you trying to get sick?" _Soul turned over on his side and closed his eyes at the dull pain radiating in his face. She just had to say it. Of course he hadn't been trying to get sick. He'd gone out in the rain plenty of times without getting sick. Well, there was nothing to do now but wait it out.

"Oh no.."

Soul opened an eye to see Maka sitting over him, her expression worried.

"Maka?"

"You went and got yourself sick," she said. "All I wanted you to do was go get the icing for the cake and you come back sick. What am I suppose to do with you Soul?"

He mumbled something but gave no clearly audible reply. Maka stood and went out of the room only to return with a bottle. She glanced over the labeling then proceeded to open it.

"It'll go away on it's on," Soul said suddenly. "I don't need you to take care of me like a kid, Maka."

"No matter how old you get you need help when you get sick," Maka replied softly as she poured the proper amount into the cap. "Here, I'll give you the medicine then I'll leave you alone. Okay?"

Soul took it then turned away again. Maka rolled her eyes at him. _You're completely predictable Soul, _she thought as she walked out. The others looked up when she came into the living room. Liz looked the most expectant.

"He's as sick as ever," she stated sternly. "He shouldn't have gone out like that the other night."

"And I thought we could all go do something really fun today," Patty sighed disappointedly.

"We could still go do something," Tsubaki said. "Me, you, and BlackStar."

Maka leaned forward on the counter in front of Liz. That sad look on her face was not very becoming of one of her bridesmaids.

"Hey, Liz," she said. "Why don't we stay here and take care of Soul? The others could go out and I can help you."

"R-Really? I mean, I don't want to..." she looked away from the meister.

"You don't want to-"

"I don't want to stress him out with all this stuff while he's sick," Liz said quickly. "You know..."

That and she was all for getting her feelings out but she was not willing to get sick for it. She did like him and all, but how embarrassing would it be to confess while blowing your nose? Liz shook the image from her mind and looked back to Maka.

"Are you sure?" Maka asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said. "I can wait until he's feeling better. I'll go with the others."

Maka shrugged as Liz got up to grab her stuff. She was nervous, understandable. There was no need to rush things after all. It looks it was going to be just like the academy days; Soul sick and Maka taking care of him. Some things never change.

"We'll be back soon," Patty called as they went out the door.

Maka waved then went up to Soul's room to check up on how he was doing. She walked in and stood over him. He looked miserable.

"Soul, Soul, Soul," she sighed as she put a hand to his forehead.

"I thought you were going to leave me alone," he moaned tiredly.

"I have to check up on you," she said, wiping her hand on her skirt. "You are burning up. I'll be right back."

Kid had stayed behind to help Maka with Soul so it was just the Thompsons and the assassins. They went to a small amusement park that had recently opened. It was very crowded and with good reason. There was a live band, DeadPan; cheap, fatty food; rides ranging from kiddie to thrill-seeker; shows for the kids and so much more. Patty was enjoying herself to the max with BlackStar. He was someone just as reckless and as little concerned for his safety as she was. Liz tried to put on a smile but she was thinking about Soul the whole time. Tsubaki sat next to her with a stick of cotton candy.

"You should have stayed with Maka," she said as she pulled a ball from the cotton candy.

"I know.." Liz sighed guiltily.

"Then Kid could have come."

She looked at the chain scythe. Tsubaki laughed and Liz dropped her head.

"I just didn't want to get sick..." she said quietly.

"That's not very romantic," Tsubaki said, still giggling a little.

"Neither is confessing with a runny nose," Liz stated matter-of-factly.

"What is it now Liz? Tell the truth." Tsubaki turned to face her friend.

"I just want it to be perfect, you know? When I can finally tell him how I feel. I just want it to be special."

"I know what you mean," Tsubaki said. "Sometimes I wish BlackStar had been a little more romantic with his approach, but that's the past. What you should do is make it special for you. Soul is the really calm type so you can do that. He'll give you your space. Right now he isn't in the best of health, but, this could be just as romantic as you make it. Nurse Thompson."

Liz blushed at the title. "Don't say it like that," she blurted. "It sounds perverted or something..."

Tsubaki laughed. BlackStar and Patty came wobbling from the rollercoaster they had just rode. They leaned on their respective partners and groaned loudly.

"To much for ya BlackStar?" Patty panted her challenge.

"Y-Yeah right," he retorted. "I'm the one who's surpassed the gods! A wimpy little thing like that couldn't weaken me."

Patty glared at him. "I'm hungry!"

She got up and ran to the nearest food cart. BlackStar followed, determined not to be beaten by the pistol. Their partners laughed as they bombarded the poor workers with food orders. They ran back to the bench and proceeded to stuff their faces with the arm full of food they ordered. Liz went up to pay for it, apologizing for their animosity. Patty glanced up at one point and found herself falling behind BlackStar. Tsubaki was actually cheering them on while passersby stared. Invulnerability to embarrassement was one of the things she had slowly gained after being with BlackStar for so many years.

"Look at them go," Liz said, both afraid and impressed at their ability to fit so much food in ther mouths without pausing.

Patty finished first and threw her fists up as soon as she got down that last piece of funnel cake. Sadly enough, she was so occupied with her victory she hadn't noticed the person standing next to her holding his pained face.

"Where did Crona come from?!" Liz pointed out.

"Oh, Crona!" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"Oh hey," BlackStar said over a mouthful of food.

Patty dropped her hands and looked around. Crona, where? That's when she noticed the tall, slender person standing next to her holding his face.

"H-Hello.." Crona said, still shocked from the punch.

"Did I do that?" Patty said, jumping up to look at his face.

"I-I'm fine, r-really," he stuttered, backing away.

"Lemme see," Patty said, taking his hand from his face and looking at his bruised cheek. "Oh no..."

"Umm, please, Patty, it's fine..."

Tsubaki walked over to inspect. "It's bruised Crona," she said. "Sorry about that."

"I-I s-said it's fine," he continued pitifully. "I just came for Maka's wedding. I didn't think I'd end up getting pucnhed if I came..."

"I'm sorry Crona," Patty apologized. "I didn't see you there."

"Maka will be so glad when she hears you were able to make it," Liz said. She turned to Tsubaki and pulled her away from the others for a moment. "I'm gonna go back to the mansion. You were right."

"Okay," Tsubaki nodded. "Make it your own."

Liz nodded then started running back to the mansion. Patty and BlackStar had hooked their arms in Crona's and started swaying him from side to side, ignoring Ragnorak's angry ranting. Crona fidgeted nervously as they stole him away to spend the day.

Liz ran into the house and shut the door loudly behind her. Kid peeked in from the living room.

"Oh, Liz, you're back?" he asked, obviously confused. "Did something happen?"

"No, where's Maka?" she asked absently.

"She's upstaris with Soul-" he started as she ran past him. He caught her wrist. "Wait, is something wrong Liz?"

She sighed. "No, nothing's wrong Kid. There's just something I have to do."

He let her go and she ran up the stairs to Soul's room. She stopped in front of his door to compose herself. _Calm down Liz. You have everything under control. Make this work for you. _She knocked then slowly opened the door. Maka looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, Liz! What are you doing back? Did something happen?" she asked.

"No, I just thought you could use some help," Liz said as she went to sit beside her. "We both know how much work it is dealing with this one."

"Hey," Soul groaned, "I heard that."

Liz put a hand on his forehead. "Hey, how are you feeling? Any better?"

"No way," he sighed.

His face was flushed and he shivered under her touch. She looked at Maka who smiled.

"I'll come back in a little while to check on him," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Liz replied. "I can keep an eye on him Maka."

"Alright then. You come see me in two hours for his medicine. Have fun you two~"

"Fun?" Soul echoed weakly.

"She's just teasing," Liz said. "Now, I'm going to be taking care of you until you get better! So be a good little patient and don't give me a hard time."

"Or what?" Soul asked more so than retorted.

"Or I'll punish you." She pinched his cheek and laughed when he moaned helplessly.

"Alright, alright~"

Over the next two days Soul and Liz saw a lot of eachother, and spent most likely more time together in a single sitting than they had in all their years of being friends. Liz never left the room but to get food or medicine for Soul. She was devoted to him for his entire time of illness. BlackStar thought it was pretty pathetic for Liz to be taking care of Soul. The follower of such a man as himself should not be able to be taken so easily by a simple infliction. Tsubaki thought it sweet that she was taking of her man. Crona had also started visiting and catching up with everyone.

The day finally came when Soul's fever dissipated and he was making his way down stairs.

"Welcome back Soul!" Patty greeted him loudly.

"Ah- S-Soul, hi," came Crona's small greeting.

"Hey Crona, Patty," he yawned. "What are you two doing up so early?"

"We were watching a movie," the blonde weapon replied, turning back to the tv.

"Just the two of you? Is this like a date or something?"

Crona blushed bright red but Patty just laughed. "No Soul, we were both awake so we decided to watch a movie."

"I'm glad you could make it for the wedding Crona." Soul walked into the kitchen.

"M-Me too," he replied meekly, still shaken by Soul's previous assumption.

"Where's sis Soul?" Patty asked from the couch.

"She's still sleeping," he answered curtly. "You know, she slept on the floor so she wouldn't have to leave at night? What's with that sister of yours?"

"She's serious when she sets her mind to something," Patty said with a nod. "Especially you~"

Crona looked over the back of the couch. "A-Are you and Liz d-dating, Soul?"

"No, we're not," he said flatly. "Well...not yet anyway..."

"Oooooo~" Patty teased. "Soul and big sis, sittin' in a tree-"

"Aren't you a little to old for that Patty?" Soul asked, his voice not lacking in annoyance.

A groggy Liz came stumbling down the stairs amidst the early activity. She ganced sleepily around the room until her tired eyes fell on the white haired man standing in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter.

"How are you doing?" she half asked, half yawned.

"I'm feeling a lot better. Thanks for taking care of me even though you didn't have to." Soul leaned down on the counter next to her.

She might have made up some excuse or blatantly walked away or even just moved away from him before. This time she moved closer and leaned her head on his shoulder. After spending the past two days feeding him medicine and hot soups and basicly catering to his every beckoning call Liz felt this was almost payback enough. Almost but not quite...

"Soul, I need to talk to you," she said after a minute. "Can we go outside?"

She took his hand and led him out the front door. Patty looked to the top of stairs where Maka, Tsubaki, BlackStar, and Kid appeared from their hiding places. They shared the same knowing smile which confused a certain pink haired boy.

"Why is everyone smiling? What's happening?" Crona looked at everyone and sweatdropped.

Liz stopped out on the porch and turned to face Soul. She still held onto his hands as she looked seriously into his eyes. This was it. There was no reason to hold anything back any longer now.

"Soul," she started confidently.

"Liz," he said back.

"I have something to say and I want you to be serious, okay? Don't make fun of me."

"I already know what you're going to say," he pointed out.

"Well, just let me say it," she whined.

"Alright."

"Soul-"

"Liz."

"I..like you."

Soul raised an eyebrow, which made her instantly want to take back her words. _Oh no~! Why is he looking like that?! Did I say something wrong? Oh Death-_

"That wasn't exactly what I was expecting," he admitted. "I was going to say something completely different... It won't sound cool if I say it now though."

"What? Say what? Soul!" Now he was just messing with her emotions. "Tell me!"

"I don't know if saying I love you means anything now-"

Liz threw her arms around his neck in a hug. Soul was startled at first then he laughed into her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you to Soul," she spoke softly into his ear.

"I'm pretty sure you just said like," he whispered.

"Just shut up and take it albino," she hissed.

They released each other then went back inside to find themselves bombarded by colorful streamers and cheers. Maka swooped down on them with a big hug and pushed them into the living room.

"What's all this?" Liz inquired, still in shock.

"It's a 'They Finally Did It' party," Tsubaki exclaimed.

"Party?" Soul frowned.

"Yeah!" BlackStar exclaimed. "We can throw a party for whatever we want, alright?!" BlackStar shouted from atop the coffee table. "So shut up and enjoy it alright?! I command it!"

This was more likely than not a random party for no good reason but they pinned their names on it to give it reason. Whatever the reason was, they celebrated together for the first time in a while.


	7. Chapter 7: Happily Ever After?

"Wait, wait, wait! Come stand up here and look at it with me Kid."

Patty and Liz sat in the back row of pews as Kid walked to the front to stand with Maka. She stepped up to the front where they would be standing during the ceremony. Kid stood in front of her and looked down the aisle. He mumbled and tilted his head in thought.

"Maka will you go stand down at the end of the aisle for me?" he asked, turning to his fiance'. "i want to see how it looks around you."

Maka jogged down the aisle then turned to face him. Patty sighed aloud and threw up her arms.

"Kid~ It looks fine~!" the pistol whined. "Can we go now?"

"No, not yet. We just have to go over a few things with the planner and then we can go," Kid replied calmly.

She leaned over the arm of the pew and groaned. Patty was being whiny now, but she'd be excited during the real thing. It was her meister's wedding so she was defiently happy, but that didn't mean she had to put up with all the boring stuff. Liz, on the other hand, was fine with anything as long as Soul was there. She was currently attached his arm and very content.

A woman with cropped, brown hair walked in with a large bag and thick binder in her small arms.

"I see you got here earlier than me, " she said as she put down her things.

Maka turned around and a big smile came over her face. "Monica, hello!"

"Hello," she giggled. "Hello to you to sir," she called to Kid.

After introductions and some light conversation she sat them down and opened the over sized binder she carried. She stopped on a lamenated page with a black and white theme.

"Okay, I just wanted to go over a few things with you," Monica said as she glanced between Kid and Maka. "We have everything, it's all ready to get set up..."

The others had escaped outside when the wedding planner had come in. Liz wanted to be surprised when she saw everything and refused to hear anything about what theme they had chosen or decorations.

"I can't wait, just four more weeks," Liz squealed. "It's going to be really nice watching Kid come down that aisle and then standing up there with Maka~" She sighed longingly.

"I'm excited about the party~!" Patty said dreamily. "We have to help Blair plan for Maka's party sis. This is gonna be so much fun!"

She hummed excitedly and started to rock from side to side. Liz sighed, attaching back onto Soul's arm, sighed dramaticly. She was not looking forward to the party. Surely everyone had heard that she was going out with Soul and there would be these awkward questions from _someone_. It would be unavoidable with so many women in one room.

"Is something wrong?" Soul asked cautiously.

"I'm just thinking about that bachelorette party coming up," she admitted. "It's going to be so embarrassing."

"No it won't," he laughed. "Just remember it's all about Maka for the next few weeks."

"I guess you're right... You'll probably have it harder than me anyway," Liz warned.

Soul just laughed. "I don't think so," he said smugly. "Hey, do you want to do something tonight?"

"Did you have something in mind?"

Soul smiled that sharp toothed smile of his and wrapped his arms around her. Liz giggled and turned slightly to kiss his cheek. Patty stood away with her back to them and her hands swinging lazily at her sides. The wedding would be even harder with everyone together. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "As long as sis is happy, I'm happy."

"Hey, Patty, are you okay?" Liz asked worriedly.

She spun around quickly, her smile painted painfully on. "Yeah! I'm fine sis~"

"You want to come with us tonight?" Soul asked. "We can all hangout at the club. It'll be fun."

Patty's smile faultered for a moment but she quickly replaced it with a grin. "It's fine, I like hanging out with BlackStar. He's a lot of fun! You two go have fun, okay?"

_Oh no, _Liz thought. _It's happening now. Patty's getting the third wheel syndrom! We're going out so much and she doesn't want to get in the way, but I see how lonely she is. How could I be so stupid! Poor Patty.. _

"If that's what you want do," Soul replied with a smile. "BlackStar is a lot of fun."

_Yeah, but he's Tsubaki's... _

Liz talked to Tsubaki as soon as they were done at the church. She couldn't live with herself if things stayed the way they were. Her sister was miserably alone and she was laughing with Soul right in front of her. Liz dropped her head in shame. Well, it was time for her to start acting like a big sister again.

"I do like to play matchmaker," Tsubaki admitted with a small blush. "Do we have anyone in mind?"

"No, but I'm sure there's someone out there for her," Liz said confidently. "We just have to make sure he's not some dirtbag. As her big sister I refuse to let just anyone come in. I won't let it be so easy."

Tsubaki giggled. "It's so sweet how you are with your sister Liz."

"Well, of course! What if she decides to marry this guy Tsubaki?!" Liz pulled frustatedly at her hair.

Tsubaki eased her hands down from her hair and into her lap. "Calm down Liz, we haven't even found a guy yet!"

"R-Right..."she blushed embarrassment. "Let's get to work on that."

They spent the next three weeks in a brutal search for someone that could be a potential boyfriend for Patty. Tsubaki would talk with them to see how they were because Liz was in interrogation mode. No matter how nice they were she was critical on everyone of them. Their time was winding down quickly as the weeks went by in blurs of men and headaches.

"Maybe I'm just overreacting," Liz whined. "Tonight's the wedding reception and I just don't want her to feel like she has to leave me and Soul alone."

"I wish we could have found someone nice for her, but Liz, I'm sure she can handle things on her own," Tsubaki said. "We should just leave it to fate and let Patty find her own love."

"Yeah," Liz sighed into her hands. "Come on, let's go get ready for the reception."

The two women readied themselves and gathered with everyone else in the livingroom. The additional bridesmaids and groomsmen would be meeting them at the church. Once everyone was ready they headed out. Patty walked between Liz and Soul while Tsubaki and BlackStar walked ahead of them. It was a ten minute walk to the church and the others were there by the time they had arrived. There were also two other women that were talking there with Marie that they didn't know.

"Alright, the bride and groom are here!" the dark skinned woman said, getting everyone's attention. "My name is Layla and I will be helping you all make sure you know what to do. What we are doing is rehearsing the ceremony so that tomorrow we won't have any embarrassing memories other than the ones you may make at the reception."

The small crowd laughed a little. She then put everyone in their places and talked to others about what they were going to do when they came in. Ox and Kim's little girl, Mika, would be the flower girl and their son would act as ring bearer. He seemed shy but he listened very well when Layla wasspeaking to him.

"It's still kind of strange seeing Ox and Kim with kids," Liz said as she waved at them from the back of the church. "I mean, they are cute, don't get me wrong."

"Get in your place Liz," Soul whispered before breaking away from her to where the other groomsmen stood.

There were quite a few mishaps including one of the bridesmaids falling in the middle of the aisle. When Spirit walked Maka down the aisle Patty started crying which caused him to break as well and they had to start over. Little Mika and Princeton executed their parts better than the adults had without flaw. It was ten o' clock at night before they had managed to go completely through the ceremony without a problem. The coordiantor was so glad when they finally made it to the exiting scene flawlessly.

"How is everyone feeling?" she asked after the last run though. "Do we feel confident?"

They mumbled uncertainty.

"I think everyone did great," Maka complimented them.

"It's happening tomorrow so try to make sure you all are completely confident with this. Now, are there any questions?"

There were none so she wished everyone good night and congradulated the engaged couple before leaving. Most stayed to talk and cry with Maka. Liz watched from afar. It was all so sweet but Liz couldn't help feeling like she was going to be the one to ruin everything tomorrow. She looked around for Patty. She spotted the blonde talking with Chrona in one of the pews. Patty looked distressed and he looked like he was trying very hard not to be. Liz took Soul's sleeve to get his attention.

"Look over there," she whispered.

Soul looked where she pointed and smiled. "Poor Chrona," he chuckled. "He looks completely lost."

"What do you mean 'poor Chrona'?" Liz snapped.

"There's still some things he just can't deal with."

Liz continued to watch them as the small group started to seperate. Patty hugged Chrona then walked back to the others. She sighed and shook her head, not noticing the look on her sister's face. They eventually let Maka go and dispersed. She turned to Kid and kissed his lips gently. Tomorrow they would become official. Maka must have been feeling so nervous despite how cool she looked. The walk home was quiet but content. Tomorrow was finally almost there...

"Oh Death! Where are my earring?!"

"Right here! I have them Maka," Tsubaki said, handing her the small diamonds.

Maka was rushing around the house grabbing her things and making sure she had all the make-up before running out the door. She had woken up before Kid and had not been able to get back to sleep. Maka was working on five hours of sleep and adrenaline. The bridesmaids ran after her as she sprinted to the church. Soul and BlackStar followed as well seeing Kid had left earlier to make everything would perfect for when Maka arrived. Most if not all of the guests had arrived and were occupying the church already. Maka snuck into the back room while the bridesmaids sent away the groomsmen.

"We'll see you guys later," Patty said as she went after Maka.

"Try not to do something embarrassing when the ceremony starts," Liz taunted.

"Go on, we'll go find Kid," Soul said.

They split up and Tsubaki took Liz to where they would get dressed. Marie was helping Patty into the dress when they walked in.

"Hi! Are you all excited?"

"Yes," Tsubaki answered. "I can't wait to see Maka walking down the aisle. How long do we have?"

"About two hours before the ceremony starts," Marie said.

They dressed quickly and checked eachother's make-up, making the neccessary touch-ups. Once they were ready they ventured to check up on Maka. She was getting into her dress with the help of Azusa. Marie helped the short haired death scythe tie up the long bow. Her dress was white with a big black bow on the back that trailed as long as her train. Liz marvelled at her make-up and the crossbow blushed slightly.

"How do I look?" Maka asked nervously.

"You look gorgeous," Marie cooed.

"You're beautiful," Patty replied with large eyes.

"Your dad's going to have a hard time dealing with this," Liz added. "He was a mess at the rehearsal last night."

"I'm sure he'll be fine once we get going," Maka said as she went to the mirror. "Ohh I'm getting so nervous now you guys! I hope I don't mess up."

"We'll be up front to help you if you get stuck," Liz assured her.

"I wish my mom could be here..." Maka sighed.

"Well we are recording it," Marie said. "You can send her a tape."

They talked away the nerves until the time had come and Spirit came to retrieve Maka. The bridesmaids hurried out to get ready for their part and Spirit held out his arm for Maka. The church fell silent as the bridesmaids and maid of honor made their way down followed by the groomsmen and best man. Justin Law greeted everyone with a nod then set his attention back to the end of the aisle. An even deeper silence fell as Maka was walked down the aisle by Spirit. Liz surpressed her tears until after they said "I do" and kissed. The crowd erupted into applause. The new Mr. and Mrs. Death lead the way to the reception they were having at the mansion.

Never before had there been so many people gathered in one place. The celebration was large and extravagant with tables of food and music playing loudly. The bride took pictures with everyone. They had finally done it. The past six months had been torture but they survived until the day they had officially become husband and wife. Liz even had to admit she was proud of Kid for making such a big decision.

"Hey Liz," Soul called as he came up to her. "Check out Patty and Chrona by the pool."

Liz looked up by one of the tables and saw Patty throwing her head back in laughter and Chrona laughing as well. He looked far less uncomfortable than he usually did. Liz smiled at them.

"They look kind of cute together," she specualted.

"They look like they're enjoying eachother's company enough," Soul agreed.

"It's good t osee Patty smiling again. I was getting kind of worried about her. We were hanging out so much and since we're dating now I thought she would have started to feel left out, but she looks fine now."

"Because she's with Chrona," Soul said.

The song playing in the background changed to an upbeat hiphop song and Soul stole Liz from her chair. She didn't refuse him so he took her into the undefined dance floor. Patty was fine, Maka was married and Liz was his now. Everything had turned out alright in the end.

"Do you think this is a good enough ending?" Soul asked Liz.

"Yeah, everyone's fine and there are no party crashers," Liz replied. "I think everything's fine."

They danced close with their arms wrapped protectively around eachother. Liz was right then; this ending was as good as it was going to get. As long as she stayed within his reach there could not be any other way for things to end. Then again, peace was something rarely aquired and kept among them...


End file.
